Rogowska’s 4.65m vault the highlight in Warsaw

Anna Rogowska’ 4.65m meet record in the Pole Vault was among the highlights of the 54th edition of the famed Kusocinski Memorial on Sunday in the Polish capital (15).

The Kusocinski Memorial is one of a select group of Area meetings at which points can be acquired by athletes to qualify for the IAAF / VTB Bank World Athletics Final, to be held on 13-14 September in Stuttgart, Germany.

The meeting did its part to change the bad mood evoked by the poor results of the Polish football team in the European Championships. Good, truly athletic weather in the cozy AWF stadium offered the spectators a few interesting events.

In the men’s Hammer Throw, the first event of the day, Szymon Ziolkowski, former Olympic champion and local matador, had to accept the victory of Slovenian Primos Kozmus (80.07m). And additionally Ziolkowski lacked just 14 cm to gain his Olympic ticket. Better form was signaled by Kamila Skolimowska, winner of women’s competition (73.50m) with a new season’s best.

Another season best, worthy of the second position on the world list in the women’s Discus Throw, was produced by talented Russian Darya Pishchalnikova (66.12m) who had to overcome strong competitors. Four men exceeded 64m on the men’s side and only 21cm separated them after the final round. The winner, Polish record holder Piotr Malachowski, this time contented himself with 64.67m achieved in the sixth round beating Spaniard Frank Casanas by just over 1cm.

The traditional rivalry of the two best Polish pole vaulters this time gave satisfaction to Anna Rogowska who after 4.65m on her second jump, a new stadium and Memorial record, three times attacked 4.72m. Monika Pyrek risked starting from 4.45m, concentrated too long on the first attempt and exceeded the trial time. Her next two jumps were not successful and as a result no-heighted. Second and third went Ukrainian Natalya Kushch and Russian Tatyana Polnova both clearing 4.50m.

Italian Claudio Licciardello surprised the Warsaw crowd with a stunning victory in the 400m setting a personal best of 45.52m and beating all the Polish specialists of the distance (without Marek Plawgo). Likewise Pavel Lyzhyn of Belarus proved better than Tomasz Majewski in the Shot Put, 20.85 to 20.74.

During a dramatic women’s 1500m three Polish girls stopped the clock with results giving them Olympic qualification. However one cannot find among them the name of Lidia Chojecka, who is slowly coming to form after injury. Sylwia Ejdys improved her PB by more than two seconds winning with 4:05.40, ahead of Russian Anna Alminova (4:06.16), steepler Wioletta Frankiewicz (4:06.21), Briton Lisa Dobriskey (4:06.25 PB) and Anna Jakubczak (4:06.94).

On Wednesday in Ostrava 800m Pawel Czapiewski overtook Marcin Lewandowski by just 0.03 seconds. In Warsaw the latter fighting for a spot on the European Cup team won with 1:46.14, one meter ahead of his rival.

Mike Boit finally lost his 35-year-old meeting record in the 1500m. Jonathan Komen of Kenya had to run 3:37.09 to become the new record holder. The 5000m Memorial run went to his compatriot Bernard Sang who achieved 13:46.10, 15 seconds off the meeting record set back in 1969 by East German Hansjörg Kunze.

Although both sprints were won quite easily by Briton Christian Malcolm Polish sprinters managed to run a worthy 38.69 relay, a European season’s best. A Polish women’s squad clocked 43.96.

Click here for full results

Daniel Grinberg for the IAAF

Following the meeting the Executive Board of Polish Athletic Association made the team selection for the next week’s SPAR European Cup in Annecy, France.

WOMEN
100m: Daria Korczynska
200m: Ewelina Klocek
400m: Agnieszka Karpiesiuk
800m: Anna Rostkowska
1500m: Sylwia Ejdys
3000m: Lidia Chojecka
5000m: Dorota Gruca
3000m st: Wioletta Frankiewicz
100m H: Aurelia Trywianska
400m H: Anna Jesien
High Jump: Kamila Stepaniuk
Pole Vault: Anna Rogowska
Long Jump: Teresa Dobija
Triple Jump: Malgorzata Trybanska
Shot Put: Krystyna Zabawska
Discus Throw: Joanna Wisniewska
Hammer Throw: Kamila Skolimowska
Javelin Throw: Urszula Piwnicka
4x100m: Daria Korczynska, Dorota Jedrusinska, Ewelina Klocek, Marika Popowicz, Marta Jeschke
4x400m: Monika Bejnar, Grazyna Prokopek, Agnieszka Karpiesiuk, Izabela Kostruba

MEN
100m: Lukasz Chyla
200m: Marcin Jedrusinski
400m: Piotr Kedzia
800m: Marcin Lewandowski
1500m: Bartosz Nowicki
3000m: Lukasz Parszczynski
5000m: Artur Kozlowski
3000m st: Tomasz Szymkowiak
110m H: Dominik Bochenek
400m H: Marek Plawgo
High Jump: Grzegorz Sposob
Pole Vault: Przemyslaw Czerwinski
Long Jump: Marcin Starzak
Triple Jump: Mateusz Parlicki
Shot Put: Tomasz Majewski
Discus Throw: Piotr Malachowski
Hammer Throw: Szymon Ziolkowski
Javelin Throw: Igor Janik
4x100m: Dariusz Kuc, Lukasz Chyla, Marcin Jedrusinski, Kamil Masztak, Marcin Nowak
4x400m: Daniel Dabrowski, Kacper Kozlowski, Rafal Wieruszewski, Piotr Kedzia, Piotr Wiaderek